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ADAPTABILITY IS THE FUTURE
CONTENT
1 Surviving in a complex world 5
1.1 Orientation in an agile company 9
1.2 Purpose & customer focus 11
1.3 Stability & dynamics 11
1.4 Transparency & iteration 12
1.5 Agile leadership & entrepreneurship 13
2 Dimensions of agile transformation 15
2.1 Achieving more together 15
2.2 Methodological agility 16
2.3 Cultural agility 17
2.4 Structural agility 18
3 Striking a path: Your journey to agility 20
3.1 In the beginning: Entrepreneurial will and a systemic approach 20
3.2 Transformation into an agile organization 22
3.3 Phase I: Prepare 26
3.4 Phase II: Structure 28
3.5 Phase III: Pilot 32
3.6 Phase IV: Scale 32
4 Agility in practice – Example BMW 34
3White paper: Agile companies
1. SURVIVING IN A COMPLEX WORLD
Studies show that only about 10 percent of companies are able to
profitably grow over a longer period of time.1 One of the reasons
for this is the increase in complexity due to the penetration of new
markets, in addition to the constant drive for product innovation
and development of new customer potential. As a result, compa-
nies often focus on their internal processes and establish adminis-
trative structures, on the one hand to organize this complexity in
the corporate environment, and on the other hand to "put things
in order" internally. This order often turns into bureaucracy – and
bureaucracy can be crippling. Companies as a result gradually lose
their original founder’s mentality that originally led them to success.
Establishing organizational structures sometimes has exactly the
opposite effect of what was originally intended: Internal structures
can no longer cope with external complexity and are not primarily
oriented towards the value creation process; they develop their
own logic ("silo thinking") and complexity.
1 See Zook, C./Allen, J., The Founders Mentality, Boston 2016
5White paper: Agile companies
Agile companies focus their organizational design on the actual pur-
pose – creating value for the customer – and create structures that
make this possible. If the company finds itself in a complex, constant-
ly changing environment (e.g., market, product), the organization
must also orient itself accordingly. So-called organizational design
(see Nagel 2017) aims to increase entrepreneurial performance (in-
ternal and external), opposes "over-structuring" and corresponds to
the idea of value creation.
START-UP COMPANIES GROW THREE TIMES FASTER THAN OTHER COMPANIES
Other S&P500 companies
Indexed total shareholder return
5k
4k
3k
2k
1k
1990 1998 2006 2014
Founders Index
3.1 x
6 White paper: Agile companies
Agile companies try to follow their original founder’s mentality
(Glasl 2004, Kotter 2015) from their early days, which, marked by
curiosity, skepticism, courage and humor, still has the following
characteristics:
∙ Strategy: Provides visionary meaning
and is customer and value oriented
∙ Structure: Self-organizing,
rather self-determined with freedoms
∙ Process: Iterative, experimental,
with smaller tasks and activities
∙ Leadership: Divided into roles and changes
among experts according to the situation
∙ Culture: Self-reflective and boldly
explorative with fast feedback loops
These are the characteristics that agile organizations – once again –
make their own. Forming suitable structures and management, the
role of employees and the organizational culture are of particular
importance here. Agile leadership can be understood as distribut-
ed leadership, meaning employees assume leadership tasks and the
traditional leader assumes the role of a facilitator, process designer
and successful framework architect. As a result, the importance of
the hierarchy decreases. In agile organizations, teams lead them-
selves in a highly self-organized manner, establish decision-making
processes, make decisions themselves and take responsibility for
project results, budgets and innovation processes. This minimizes
lengthy coordination processes, decision blockades and turf wars,
allowing the focus to be placed on creating value for the customer.
7White paper: Agile companies
Lean management and agility are closely related, especially in terms
of content: Transparency, clear communication processes and re-
duction of waste. An essential difference between the two is that
agile companies constantly change their own structural and pro-
cess organization independently. Variety2 in their own processes
and structures are thus a result of agile organizations, whereas lean
management focuses much more on repeatability and preventing
variety in processes. This is a relevant difference. In our experience,
utilizing lean elements, which, for example, create transparency and
identify potential for improvement, is a factor for success on the
path to becoming an agile organization. Agile organizations achieve
both: They organize themselves as flexibly and as close to the mar-
ket as possible and, with lean management, create lean processes
where they are useful for value creation, whether in production or in
indirect areas. They use established lean instruments that effectively
support "agile work."
An agile company is able to recognize changes at an early stage, to adapt itself quickly to current circumstances at any time – taking into account its own needs – and to develop the most effective and efficient organizational form.
The aim of an agile company is to ensure constant adaptation to
the market and the company's environment. The company's strat-
egy, structure, processes and culture are aligned with the manner
in which sustainable value creation can be created for the customer.
2 Variety (cybernetics): Increase in the possibilities of effect, action and communication of a complex system
8 White paper: Agile companies
1.1 ORIENTATION IN AN AGILE COMPANYAgile companies can be described as social systems3. These are
based on four central dimensions: Strategy, processes, structure and
culture. In parallel and in harmony with this, the company, the teams
and individuals in their functions and roles as social systems with
their own specific logic must be organized, aligned and developed
according to these overriding principles. This perspective enables
continuous self-renewal. In doing so, companies ensure the neces-
sary flexibility, while maintaining stable and robust structures that
allow it to create value.
3 Luhmann 1987; Gomez/Lambertz/Meynhardt 2019
DIMENSIONS OF AN AGILE COMPANY
∙ Strategy: Vision, purpose, alignment & orientation
∙ Structure: Organizational design (structure, infrastructure, personnel systems, control systems, horizontal connections, management practice)
∙ Processes: Direct and indirect value creation
∙ Culture: Mindset, values, attitudes
Strategy Structure
CultureProcess
9White paper: Agile companies
Most companies can be described as functionally differentiated in
terms of their structures. Strategic processes are often costly, rigid
and unable to achieve a decisive effect. Employees frequently expe-
rience corporate culture as a hindrance rather than a supporter of
innovation and change processes.
Agile companies follow a long-term strategy, but their strategy im-
plementation is fast and short cyclical (e.g., using OKR*). They de-
velop structures that are less hierarchical and more circular or net-
worked. The organizational culture can be described as "learning,"
"at eye level" or "unbureaucratic." And this is exactly what an agile
organization needs in order to be effective and efficient.
These aspects make becoming an agile company an organizational
development process – moving from one organizational system to
another. Once these aspects are understood as an organizational de-
velopment process, the right measures can be effectively orchestrat-
ed, which are necessary to successfully implement agile structures in
the interrelationship between individuals, the team and the organi-
zation (as social systems). The decisive point is: There is no blueprint
for this, but many have had great experiences. Every company must
develop an agile structure that suits it, because every company has
its own strategy, operates in specific markets, has an individual prod-
uct portfolio, its own history and must therefore adapt to specific
dynamics and determine the appropriate capabilities within these.
As will be explained in the following sections, four central character-
istics distinguish an agile company.
* OKR = Objectives and Key Results
10 White paper: Agile companies
1.2 PURPOSE & CUSTOMER FOCUSAgile organizations create value through the joint enhancement of
the value chain by involving all stakeholders. The customer is at the
center, to which all structures and processes of the social system or
network are aligned. In order to embed all relevant stakeholders in
the value creation system, agile organizations define "true north,"
which gives greater context to the actions of all value creation part-
ners, thereby reaching those involved on an emotional level and
causing a meaningful effect.
1.3 STABILITY & DYNAMICSThere are processes in companies that are either perceived as com-
plicated or rather complex (see Snowden 2007; Oestereich/Schröder
2020). When it comes to complicated processes and problems, there
are no gaps in knowledge. There is sufficient know-how in the com-
pany on how to solve complicated and predictable problems. Com-
plicated processes must be standardized as much as possible. They
anchor the stability of the organization and should be designed as
efficiently as possible, i.e. lean. One example of this is the assembly
process in series production.
For complex processes, the situation becomes more difficult. Here,
it is first necessary to gain information on certain phenomena. Inter-
disciplinary and closely cooperating teams that focus on a clearly de-
fined customer benefit gradually contribute to increased knowledge.
These teams (e.g., development or planning teams) work efficiently,
11White paper: Agile companies
but they also focus on effectiveness in terms of innovation and deal-
ing with constant, unforeseeable changes.
However, stability and dynamics cannot be clearly separated from
each other; a mix of both with a more or less pronounced tendency
is needed in the respective contexts. But continuously balancing
stable and dynamic elements in an organization requires a suitable
structure.
1.4 TRANSPARENCY & ITERATIONImportant principles for an agile organization are transparency
and a willingness to experiment. In order to make decisions in agile
companies, figures, data and facts are made transparent and ac-
cessible to every employee. In extreme cases, this can involve a
comprehensive look into all the information about the company.
It is important that information on existing gaps in knowledge that
are relevant for fulfilling customer requirements are made trans-
parent. This allows the company to divide the knowledge problem
into small experiments or sets of tasks. Each set of tasks, which, for
example, is addressed in the backlog of the process model "Scrum,"
has a clearly defined result that has to be achieved within a certain
period of time (for example within a two-week sprint). The method
for performing these sprints can be based on lean management,
agile software development or other formats. The only decisive
factor is that continuous and rapid iterations in the teams ensure
clarity about the progress of knowledge, promote exchange within
the team and, in addition, enable joint learning within the organi-
zation. If an experiment does not contribute to the desired result,
it is terminated consistently and early ("fail early, learn faster").
12 White paper: Agile companies
This iterative procedure improves the quality of decision-making
processes and offers learning fields for future decision-making pro-
cesses and their deliberate design.
1.5 AGILE LEADER-SHIP & ENTREPRE-NEURSHIPIn contrast to "heroic leadership," in which the leader alone sets
the course and ensures implementation through command & con-
trol, leadership in agile organizations is no longer tied to just one
person. Leadership is rather understood as team sport, in which
leadership is tied to a role and can be exercised by different people
depending on the context. Focus is placed on each of these people,
including their abilities and talents. Consequently, in certain con-
texts each employee may take on the role of a leader in relation to
the team and in other situations they may act more as an expert or
specialist. But this requires role flexibility and competence regard-
ing changing roles.
However, agile self-organization does not mean being left alone!
Agile leadership defines and creates the framework conditions for
action, for example, to develop an entrepreneurial culture that is
characterized by a corresponding willingness to take responsibili-
ty and action. With such a culture, employees feel responsible for
their areas of activity and know how they can contribute to the cor-
porate strategy. In order to promote this type of culture, leaders
primarily act as coaches and sparring partners to empower and
support employees.
13White paper: Agile companies
MIT Professor Ed Schein, one of the fathers of organizational psy-
chology and organizational development, sums it up briefly: "In an
increasingly complex world, leaders simply do not know enough to
decide alone what is new and better. Leadership is therefore a team
sport and not an individual heroic activity."4 Today, leadership is a
team effort with which decision-making processes must be shaped,
accelerated and decelerated. Decisions should be made where the
necessary knowledge and expertise is available, without having to go
through several levels of hierarchies.
4 See Egonzehnder: Lasst uns kennenlernen, online: www.egonzehnder.com/de/insight/im-gesprach-mit-ed-schein, As of: Access on: 10/25/2019
14 White paper: Agile companies
2. DIMENSIONS OF AGILE TRANS-FORMATION
2.1 ACHIEVING MORE TOGETHEROnce the strategy has been defined and the path towards agility has
been taken, three aspects unite in an agile organization: 1 the active
use of agile methods (e.g., Scrum, Kanban or Shop Floor boards), which
combine transparency, clear roles and clear decision-making or task
processes, i.e. the use of methodical agility. In addition, there is 2
structural agility, which changes the organizational, operational and
communication structures in the company such that functions and
hierarchy are "rearranged" according to the task fulfillment processes
(see Oestereich 2020). And finally, 3 cultural agility forms the hinge
between the company and the managers and employees, providing
orientation and direction in day-to-day activities.
15White paper: Agile companies
2.2 METHODOLOGICAL AGILITYBy introducing and working daily with Scrum, Shop Floor Manage-
ment or Kanban Boards in teams, the change process of trans-
forming into an agile organization becomes more tangible and the
boards visually represent change. This part of change is also called
"Doing Agile." Ideally, the boards are used by teams as a tool for
DIMENSIONS OF AGILITY
Methodological agility
Structural agility
Cultural agility
Agile organization
16 White paper: Agile companies
communication and self-control. It also provides teams the neces-
sary transparency regarding the progress of the project and any dis-
ruptions that may require a new sorting process. Additional space
for communication and exchange is provided by short-cycle stand-
up meetings, which have the same function.
As already described, we use well-known agile methods (e.g., from
Scrum) or methods from Lean Management (e.g., Shop Floor boards)
or a mixture of both (e.g., CIP sprints). However, this depends on
whether and which methods are already in use in your company and
what previous experience you have had with them. This allows us to
integrate your experience and thereby quickly create visibility, trans-
parency and security.
2.3 CULTURAL AGILITYConvincing leadership behavior, an appropriate attitude as well as
the internal orientation of the company are essential for cultural agil-
ity. Many executives, of course, know that static roles (or positions)
in agile organizations should be replaced by flexible roles or that
self-organization should replace external organization. However, the
key to success is internalizing these agile principles in the form of
an agile self-image. It is necessary to have an environment that is
strongly characterized by an agile mindset – i.e., the willingness to
constantly reflect on one's own attitude in order to grow.
The greatest task in an agile transformation is translating cultural
values of an agile organization into connectable, action-guiding prin-
ciples and to practice them in everyday life. For example, how can
17White paper: Agile companies
you make the value of entrepreneurship tangible? What does a con-
structive rebellion mean in which the status quo is constantly ques-
tioned? And how does an unconditional determination to implement
things in the interest of the customer express itself? Especially with
regards to the employees, conflict management and the interaction
with each other. In order to move from "Doing Agile" to "Being Ag-
ile," it is necessary to answer these questions within the framework
of cultural agility in a company-specific manner and then translate
them into structural agility, because this is where the decision is
made as to how much agility is (already) possible.
2.4 STRUCTURAL AGILITYStructural agility institutionalizes Agile methods of working, there-
by ensuring stability. It reliably regulates what is possible, e.g., what
may be decided by whom and when. It is a misconception to think
that an agile organization can be successful without principles, rules
and clear responsibilities.
Nor does the whole company need to have agile structures; in our
practice, we also develop agile organizational units in companies
with a traditional hierarchy. However, an essential criterion for suc-
cess is having smooth "docking capabilities" to internal interfaces.
This succeeds when it is clear who the customer is, who interacts
with the customer, and what the unit's business model is for meet-
ing customer requirements in specific cases. In customer projects,
we define so-called value stream teams to operate at the interface
between the outside world and the internal organization. The val-
ue stream team is responsible for the budget and uses it to achieve
team goals. Accordingly, goals are no longer cascaded according to
18 White paper: Agile companies
division and department, but rather distributed among the teams,
and the teams then decide together on the path to achieve the goal.
This ensures that the design of the decision-making process and de-
cision making is as closely related to the value stream as possible.
When developing new structures, we enter into a so-called organi-
zational design process with you that involves different phases (see
Nagel 2006). In doing so, we ensure that you take the specific re-
quirements of your company on the market and towards customers
into account, and that we use this iterative procedure to allow us to
identify or develop efficient structures and processes of the future
together with you. As a result, we jointly ensure that strategy, pro-
cess, structure and culture fit together and can thereby determine
the implementation levers relevant to your success.
19White paper: Agile companies
3. STRIKING A PATH: YOUR JOURNEY TO AGILITY
3.1 IN THE BEGINNING: ENTREPRENEURIAL WILL AND A SYSTEMIC APPROACHAt the beginning of every change process – and need for agility – we
work with you to establish your entrepreneurial will using the Staufen
path compass. Once a common awareness of the problem (What is
agility the answer to?), a clear goal (What do we want to achieve?) and
an attractive vision and mission have been developed, the fields of
action and measures along the strategic-structural and cultural-sys-
temic axis can be derived which take this goal into account (future
design). Based on this, we develop a phase concept with you that
orchestrates all actions to support you on the path to becoming an
agile organization. We define the implementation process using a
short-cycle approach. This means that we proceed according to our
systemic understanding with the following steps:
20 White paper: Agile companies
1 We collect the necessary information on the change project. 2
We form hypotheses for suitable interventions (measures), which we
verify during implementation. Together with 3 you, we make deci-
sions about the appropriate 4 options for action to introduce and
test changes. This allows us to establish 5 structures and processes
that are stable and resilient in the long term.
Path compass for transformation (in cooperation with Andy Duke GmbH)
Move towards energy
(ambition/ target image)
What do we want to
achieve? What do we want to be?
Strategic-structural, technical aspects
Cu
ltural-system
atic aspects
Face reality today: How have we changed? Where do we stand?
Away from energy
(problem awareness)
Success factors and operationalized roadmap
Implementa-tion energy
(path clarity / attitude)
PATH COMPASS
21White paper: Agile companies
3.2 TRANSFORMATION INTO AN AGILE ORGANIZATIONTo develop and implement an agile organization, a transformation
process is necessary. This requires certain framework conditions,
comparable to those of other successful change projects. Especial-
ly when starting with individual pilot areas ("agile biotope"), these
framework conditions are critical for the success of the transforma-
tion (e.g., time, capacities, ensuring learning etc.). After all, even agile
organizations – like any newly designed organization – are initially
fragile and must first prove their advantages compared to the old
system. We consider the following points as relevant for success:
∙ Ensure support from top management! Transformations
need support from the management floor. Greater sensitivity
or understanding for the topic can be created, for example,
through good practice visits or in-depth reflection of the project
in the management team.
∙ Let words be followed by congruent deeds! Employees must
perceive an authentic, determined will for change from the
management. If top managers are skeptical about the change,
this will transfer to the workforce and consequently, the will-
ingness to change will be lower. Transparency is also important
here: Healthy skepticism from top management does not
mean that employees are less willing to change.
∙ Identify multipliers! In order to achieve a broader impact and
greater authenticity in the change process, employees who vol-
unteer to do so should be identified and qualified as multipliers.
22 White paper: Agile companies
∙ Make positive changes! Nothing is as important as success.
Pilot or lighthouse projects help to achieve visible success
as quickly as possible and make a relevant, visible difference
from before to after. They aim to demonstrate the advantages
of the new system and create interest in other areas of the
company.
∙ Leave room for your own development! Especially in the pilot
phase, management should refrain from ad hoc interventions
in the "agile biotope" by considering the consequences of the
project. Especially in the initial phase, such interventions can
lead to instability, misdirect the energy of those involved and
ultimately lead to early failure of the project.
∙ Keep the big picture in mind! Even an "agile biotope" must
not lose its ability to connect to the existing organization or
relevant social systems. Criteria that ensure process and
structural reliability are defined at the very beginning of the
change process and form the framework for developing the
agile organizational design.
The following "script" shows the elements of transformation which,
in our experience, are essential. The loop in the diagram on page 25
makes it clear that we link the individual elements of each phase and
the phases themselves in a circular fashion, i.e. we shape the consult-
ing process so that it is iterative and dynamic.
23White paper: Agile companies
In line with our integrated approach to consulting, we combine our
expertise in organizational structures, agile methods and value
creation processes with our competence in designing cultural-sys-
temic interventions that focus on values, mindset, leadership and
employee behavior. As consultants, we use feedback processes
that occur in each phase to initiate the next phase, to incorporate
dynamics within your company and to create impact.
∙ Good practice visit
∙ Develop a vision / target picture ("Why agile?")
∙ Define the framework conditions for the transformation
∙ Select a transition team
∙ Determine the change architecture
∙ Select the change design and interventions
Organizational development
consulting
∙ Determine the complexity drivers of the environment
∙ Determine the company's actual situation
∙ Derive transformation potential
∙ Identify the main value streams (end-to-end)
∙ Derive sub-value streams
∙ Define the coordination and support team
∙ Determine the initial organizational structure
Expert consulting
A SCRIPT FORAGILE TRANSFORMATION
Prepare (2 months) Structure (2 months)
24 White paper: Agile companies
1 Perceive and observe Recognize phenomena and abnormalities
2 Select and implement Intervene into the system with the selected option
3 Develop approaches and strategies for solutions Options are the answer to knowledge
4 Form hypotheses Make context-related assump-tions about the overall system
5 Interpret and recognize Understand the essential elements in context and their interactions
THE COMPLEXITY OF CHANGE PROCESSES REQUIRES CONSTANT REFLECTION ANDCONTINUOUS ADAPTATION OF THE APPROACH
1
2
3
4
5
∙ Sensitize and train
∙ Coach leaders and teams
∙ Commuicate success
∙ Anchor the change architecture
∙ Support and anchor the change design
∙ Implement continuous coaching
∙ Select and establish the pilot teams
∙ Introduce agile methods
∙ Initiate governance process
∙ Scale the pilot in waves
∙ Support teams and leaders through further training
Structure (2 months) Pilot (6 months) Scale (ongoing)
25White paper: Agile companies
3.3 PHASE I: PREPAREAgility is not an end in itself, but rather it represents an opportunity
for companies to respond to an increasingly complex environment
with suitable structures and processes and to interact with this en-
vironment in a responsive manner. Consequently, it is necessary to
assess how complex the respective industry and the environment in
which a company operates is, and to determine what solutions the
company has available in the current situation to deal with the ex-
isting complexity. The Staufen Organizational Capability Assessment
COMPLEXITY DRIVERS OFTHE CORPORATE ENVIRONMENT
Company
Value creation networks
Technologies
Politics and society
Environmental protection
Macroeconomic factors
Product requirements
Sales market
26 White paper: Agile companies
(OrgCap) is a map that provides an answer to the question of which
aspects of the company within the context of the market and the
business environment present themselves in the context of agility
and how.
In a first step, the OrgCap assessment focuses on the drivers of en-
vironmental complexity, such as macroeconomic factors, custom-
er product requirements or market and technology developments.
The respective industry-specific characteristics of the environmen-
tal factors determine the complexity of the market and thus rep-
resent the demands of the market on the company. The results of
the assessment provide important information on whether and to
what extent an agile organizational structure makes sense for the
company.
In the second step, the company is assessed as to how it is positioned
with regard to the central dimensions of an agile organization. The
company's organizational ability is tested by means of the corporate
culture and evaluation of a total of seven fields of action:
Mission statement
Product design
Processes
Infrastructure
Structure
Communication
Leadership
The third step examines the results of the market environment
analysis and the current situation of the company. By comparing
the different values, it becomes clear how the company is currently
positioned internally with regards to external requirements, and
what procedure results from this for the change process.
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The goal is to determine the focus of the agile transformation and
which fields of action should be addressed within the change process.
In addition, the framework within which agile transformation can be
shaped must be defined. The following questions must therefore be
answered: What opportunities and limits does top management give
to leaders and employees? What can be decided? What requires ap-
proval? What can be designed and what is on the playing field?
3.4 PHASE II: STRUCTUREThe preparation phase determined how value creation is generated
in the respective industry, how value creation functions within the
organization and under which general conditions this currently takes
place. This information is the basis for the initial structure including
the essential processes, the appropriate management systems and
the relevant management principles. This is also divided into three
steps.
The first step is to identify the main value streams of the organiza-
tion. This involves defining customers or their needs and analyzing
value creation. In most cases, cross-functional teams (value stream
teams) combine different disciplines of the end-to-end process with
their own business model to create the best possible result for the
customer.
The second step determines which sub-value streams support the
main value stream. Sub-value streams are also mostly organized on
an interdisciplinary basis but are more specialized than the main val-
ue stream. They have a support function and accordingly provide
core services to the main value streams.
28 White paper: Agile companies
MARKET REQUIREMENTS
Mission statement
Qualification
Product design
Culture
Structure
Processes Communi-cation
Infrastructure Leadership
Field of action analysis
Transformation potential
Evaluation of internal fields of action to identify levers of success
Evaluation of the external environment
to determine the target system
Context analysis
Cultural analysis
Being Doing
29White paper: Agile companies
IN CONTRAST TO ORGANIZATION AS A MACHINE, AN AGILE ORGANIZATION IS A LIVING ORGANISM
From organization like a "machine"...
… to organization as an "organism"
"Boxes and lines" lose their meaning, the focus is on action
Team building based on consistent
accountability
Fast changes, flexible resources
Leadership sets the course and enables action
Detailed instruction
Top-down hierarchy
Bureaucracy
Silos
30 White paper: Agile companies
In the third step, the value flows identified and their active respon-
sibilities can be transferred into an agile organizational form, e.g., a
circular organization. The principle "less is more" applies, because
only essential circles and their industrial relations should be includ-
ed. The aim is to offer employees orientation as to how the manage-
ment and coordination relationships in the circle model function, so
that they can work within the new structure. It is not about present-
ing all industrial relations of the current situation.
Instead, communication channels and essential management and
coordination functions are mapped. In this case, work is no longer
exclusively a production factor, but also part of a problem-solving
activity. This means that employees come together in teams or cir-
cles when something must be jointly decided or coordinated. Con-
sequently, it is primarily a matter of organizing leadership, coordi-
nation and communication – not work. It is crucial that employees
are able to play a decisive role in shaping "their organization" and
are also allowed to make decisions within the scope of the previously
defined decision-making powers. For this reason, a so-called "transi-
tion team" is established during this phase to work intensively on the
new tasks, structure and attitude. Special attention must be paid to
work in the teams, which differs significantly from previous "team-
work." Do the new teams have the necessary competencies, skills
and abilities to be operational and effective?
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3.5 PHASE III: PILOTIn the pilot phase, it is important to take the first steps in the agile
world and to try out the new processes and structures. Proactive vol-
unteers in particular should be involved in the first pilot project, who
then act as multipliers within the organization. Furthermore, selec-
tion can be based on the process cascade and should include at least
one value stream team that can directly contribute to the main value
stream. In the pilot phase, it is also recommended to include the
teams that support the value stream team as partial value streams
in the process cascade. Note that the pilot should cover a delimited
area with as little interdependence to other areas as possible, but it
also contains the necessary charisma to have a positive impact on
the organization if the pilot is successfully implemented.
3.6 PHASE IV: SCALEAfter continuous reflection on the experience gained and adaptation
or fine tuning, the pilot can now be scaled across the entire organiza-
tional unit. Similar to an agile project, scaling takes place in different
cycles. The agile concept with the new processes and structures is
therefore gradually introduced in other areas. As in the pilot phase,
additional end-to-end processes (value streams) will be converted as
horizontally as possible. The transition is once again supported by a
transition team selected by the employees, agile coaches and multi-
pliers. Regular reviews, iterations and reflections lead to the step-by-
step adaptation of the concept to the real requirements.
32 White paper: Agile companies
Once the first cycles have been successfully implemented and the
introduction phase has stabilized, the transition team is replaced.
However, since adapting an agile organization is an ongoing process,
the transition team should be replaced by a comparable senior man-
agement team consisting of different representatives of the organi-
zation. This leadership circle, also called a coordination circle in an
agile context, absorbs tension from the teams, resolving it or creat-
ing space for it to be worked out. It also makes decisions on neces-
sary organizational adjustments, e.g., regarding the establishment
of new circles and roles. With this governance process, the company
is also able to continuously adapt to environmental conditions in the
future.
33White paper: Agile companies
The areas of research and development in particular are currently
facing immense challenges as a result of rapidly changing environ-
mental requirements. Increasing unpredictability and high dynamics
in product development lead to complexity that is perceived as high,
and our customer's organization must be able to manage this com-
plexity in order to act and react quickly.
The agile transformation described here was carried out in the de-
velopment department of BMW AG. In order to pilot an adaptable
organization, a main department with approximately 250 employees
was selected. The initial situation of the main department was de-
scribed as follows: somewhat outdated image, problems in meeting
deadlines, excessive costs and strong silo thinking.
During a visit to one of the Staufen BestPractice Partners, visitors
were able to gain a direct and personal impression of the opportuni-
ties but also the obstacles of agile transformation. Following the vis-
it, it was time for a "reality check" of their own organization. The com-
pany's organizational skills were assessed together with the client.
With a clear understanding of the initial situation, an ambitious tar-
get image was developed, which served as true north and an import-
ant reference point for the entire project duration.
4. AGILITY IN PRACTICE – EXAMPLE BMW
34 White paper: Agile companies
The transformation potential could then be derived from the actual
and target situation. Various teams, each covering a cross-section of
the main department, determined the important fields of action for
successful transformation. The teams focused on the following fields
of action, among others:
Structure
Processes
Leadership & Collaboration
Agile methods
Internal and External Communication
In the area for overall vehicle development, an iterative working
method was introduced using agile Shop Floor Management. For
example, team-developed Shop Floor Management boards enabled
teams to manage and control themselves. Transparency regarding
all important information was a vital prerequisite for successfully
implementing short-cycle regular communication. A positive side-ef-
fect of the iterative working approach was a reduction in committee
working hours and an increase in internal customer satisfaction due
to more accurate and faster feedback on results.
The guiding idea for the transformation was Kotter's concept of a
dual operating system in which the old hierarchy is initially main-
tained. By maintaining the hierarchy, the necessary stability and
connectivity to the rest of the organization could be ensured for the
department. Internally, however, the department followed a new op-
erating system. Highly decentralized value stream teams could then
interact directly with the customer. The high level of interdisciplin-
arity and decision-making competence of the teams allowed them
to act and react quickly to customers. The value stream teams are
supported by self-organized development teams that provide a high
level of expertise to the value stream teams.
35White paper: Agile companies
In addition to training on the Shop Floor Management method, it was
crucial to work on the attitude and outlook of employees and execu-
tives. Through various interventions ranging from open-space events
to leadership and team development trainings, optimal support was
provided while introducing the new structure and methodical work-
ing methods. Regular sounding boards and the establishment of a
cultural workshop, which like a seismograph detected tensions and
reactances within the organization and responded with appropriate
interventions, ensured transformation could take place in the best
possible manner and relapse to old patterns was prevented.
As a result, transformation into a predominantly self-organized orga-
nization was successfully completed within 16 months. This not only
increased efficiency by around 20%, but also improved effectiveness
in terms of higher customer satisfaction. In addition, regular employ-
ee surveys have revealed a positive trend: Growing popularity of the
organizational unit as an employer in the development department.
36 White paper: Agile companies
THE PATH TO A CULTURE OFAGILE COLLABORATION
Imp
rove
men
t of
per
form
an
ce a
nd
th
e ag
ilit
y
04/18 12/1806/18 06/19 12/19Time
BestPractice Visit
Target image of agile work
Methodical agility through agile SFM
Cultural change by working on mindset and attitude
Organizational agility through agile organizational structures
Continuing target image 2020
37White paper: Agile companies
38 White paper: Agile companies
STUDIES AND WHITE PAPERS
All Staufen AG studies can be found online at www.staufen.ag/studies
SUCCESSINCHANGE
GERMAN CHANGE READINESS INDEX 2019A study by Staufen AG and Staufen Digital Neonex GmbH
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIPIN TIMES OF CHANGE
LEADERSHIPIN TIMES OF CHANGE
AEROSPACE 2019
A study by Staufen AGand the Federal Association of the German Aerospace Industry (BDLI)
A survey from Staufen AG of more than 1,500 employees
UNDERSTANDING AND MASTERING THE BIG PICTURE
THE ENCRYPTED DNA OF GERMAN GLOBAL MARKET LEADER A study by Staufen AG
GERMAN INDUSTRY 4.0 INDEX 2019A study by Staufen AG and Staufen Digital Neonex GmbH
IN DUS TRY 4.0 IND EX
39White paper: Agile companies
INSIDE EVERY COMPANY THERE IS AN EVEN BETTER ONEWith this conviction, Staufen AG has been consulting and qualifying
companies and employees for more than 25 years.
FIGURES. DATA. FACTS.
PUBLISHER
STAUFEN.AG
Consulting. Academy. Investment
Blumenstraße 5 73257 Köngen, Germany
+49 7024 8056 0
www.staufen.ag [email protected]
CONTACT PERSON CONTACT PERSON FOR MEDIA
Jan Haug Partner
[email protected] +49 7024 8056 0
Sebastian Junge Marketing Manager
[email protected] +49 7024 8056 149
340 staff members
€69 million revenue
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seminar participants every year
> 90 BestPractice Partners